


Intense

by FloreatCastellum



Series: Slice of Life One-Shots [35]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Epilogue, F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-06 04:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19054915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FloreatCastellum/pseuds/FloreatCastellum
Summary: 'Our Teddy, Teddy Lupin, snogging our Victoire, our cousin!'





	Intense

‘I couldn’t do that though, could I?’ Teddy demanded, sitting bolt upright at the kitchen table. 

His grandmother glanced up from her newspaper. ‘I don’t know, it might be romantic.’ 

‘No, it would be insane, wouldn’t it? It would just be weird, you know. I have no reason to be there.’ 

‘No, not really, unless you wanted to pretend you were seeing Al and Rosie off.’ 

‘It would be insane, wouldn’t it? To go there. In front of everyone.’ 

‘It would be pretty intense,’ she agreed. 

He sat silently, his face blank, his fingers drumming against the table. ‘Yeah,’ he said, at last. ‘Really intense.’ 

She turned a page of the newspaper and looked calmly up at the clock. ‘You’d have to leave now and get a wiggle on,’ she said casually. ‘It leaves in twelve minutes.’ 

He looked at the clock too. ‘Well that’s even more insane,’ he said as though that settled it. ‘I’d have to run through the station and it would be obvious ‘cos I’d be out of breath. That’s a bit much. A bit intense. Might not even get there in time anyway.’ 

‘Might not,’ she said sagely. ‘You’d have to send an owl, or wait until the first Hogsmeade visit.’ 

He looked at her, his heart in his throat, a cold horror creeping over him. He rose, and sprinted to the door. He heard her shout good luck as he went. 

He appeared with a crack at the appparation point - a scummy little alley down a road by the station, noisy with industrial extractor fans from the backs of restaurants and stinking of rubbish. He bolted in what he hoped was the right direction, stumbling past the crowds of muggles and causing the slow moving traffic to blare their horns angrily as he ran, limbs sprawling ungracefully, across the road. 

The brown brick arches of Kings Cross loomed ahead of him as he pelted across the plaza, dodging rolling suitcases and muggles staring at their phones, actually leaping over a golden retriever that was hobbling obliviously across his path.

He came skidding to a halt at the barrier between platforms nine and ten, glancing over his shoulders as he panted. He was cutting it so fine that he couldn’t see any other wizards, and the muggles thought nothing of a gangly youth running panicked through the station, so weren’t giving him a second glance. 

With the subtlety of a blast-ended skrewt, Teddy ran headlong into the barrier and appeared onto the smokey platform of 9 and 3 quarters. 

The crowd was heaving, and so close to the train departing they were mostly busy with heaving on trunks and saying tearful goodbyes, dealing with wriggling cats and squawking owls, so one again nobody paid him any mind as he half jogged, half skipped down the platform, peering over heards and through the smoke. 

He saw his godfather and his family with their backs to him, but didn’t stop, nor did he slow his pace as he passed Ron, who waved cheerily. He ducked under the arms of one particularly irritating man who was walking insanely slowly, then straightened up quickly swivelling his head like a meerkat. 

Finally, he saw them. Bill, tall and scarred and heaving a trunk on board. Fleur, intimidatingly beautiful and haughty, kissing Louis’ cheeks, and Dom, standing on the train already and leaning out the door. 

And her. Victoire. Vic. Vicky. Frog face. 

Her strawberry blonde hair shone even in the smoky air as she threw it back and laughed at something her sister said.

This was mad. Insane. Stupid. 

But some fucking ridiculous part of him was hurrying his legs over to them - it was like he was having an out of body experience. He could feel himself standing slightly to the side, chuckling with his arms folded as he watched, shaking his head and saying ‘you fucking plank, what are you doing?’ 

But here he was, really close, and oh god they had noticed to him, and here were the confused smiles from Dom and Louis and Fleur’s knowing sort of smirk and Bill’s stony expression behind all those bloody scars, and now Vic was saying ‘Teddy!’ in a bewildered sort of way and looking at him up and down as he panted breathlessly, and oh god he was opening his mouth and he wasn’t entirely sure what was going to come out-

‘CanIhaveaword?’ 

She blinked at him, her lovely big sky blue eyes gazing up into his stupid normal face. ‘Er, yes - sure.’ 

‘Don’t be too long,’ said Bill abruptly. ‘Don’t miss the train.’ 

‘I won’t, Dad…’ 

She followed Teddy as he led her into the crowd, out of sight of her father, and then closer to the train so that the people around them were smudged into hazy figures by the smoke. 

‘What’s up?’ she asked him, as he turned to her. 

He took a step closer to her, looking down at her and vaguely noticing that the only thing stopping this from being a hug was his arms hanging awkwardly by his side. ‘Don’t get back with Martin,’ he blurted out. 

‘S-sorry?’ she said, her eyebrows raising.

‘I know you’re on-off, on-off all the time, and I know you said you were done with him the other night, but I really, really, don’t want you to get back together with him this year.’ 

She looked slowly around, as though she wasn’t sure this was really happening. ‘You came here to tell me that?’ 

‘No,’ he said. His tongue felt too big for his mouth. ‘Not just Martin, more like any… I came to… I love you,’ he said at last. 

She stared at him. In his head he was screaming, but for some terrible reason he couldn’t stop talking.

‘I know we tried, a few years ago, I know we had that summer thing with the world cup and it didn’t work and everything, and it’s fine if you want to tell me to fuck off - I will, if that’s what you want - I just- I can’t bear the thought of you going back to Hogwarts and getting back together with him, because you deserve better, and I mean obviously that includes better than me, but I just had to say something before you went-’

‘Ted,’ she interrupted, her eyes still wide. ‘Teddy- just- You love me?’ 

He swallowed, and knew he was looking down at her with a slightly pained expression. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘A horrifying amount.’ 

She looked up at him, her perfect lips slightly parted, and then he saw them quiver into a smile and without thinking or knowing what he was doing, he instinctively leaned down and kissed her. 

She was perfect, she was everything. She felt warm and soft and fierce as she kissed him back, her hands sliding up his chest and onto his shoulders, as he became faintly aware that he had one hand on her back and the other cupping her sharp jaw-

‘Bloody hell!’ came a shocked voice. ‘Teddy! What are you doing?’ 

They broke apart, and Teddy glanced down to see James standing slack-jawed and wide-eyed. ‘Go away,’ he told him irritably. 

James just blinked at him. ‘You’re snogging my cousin!’ 

‘Go away, James!’ 

James gaped at them for a second more, turned on his heel and ran back into the crowd. Teddy turned back to Vic, who was laughing delicately. 

‘I love you too,’ she said softly. ‘I can’t believe it took you this long. I’d about given up on you.’ 

He kissed her again, a feeling of bliss and joy overpowering him, delighting in the softness of her porcelain skin under his hand. The whistle pierced the air. 

‘I have to go,’ she mumbled against his lips. 

‘Write,’ he mumbled back, peppering her with kisses as she slowly walked backwards, clutching the front of his robes. She stepped onto the train and closed the door behind her, immediately leaning out of the window to kiss him again. 

‘Of course I’ll write,’ she told him. ‘Be there for Hogsmeade-’

‘I will,’ he promised, still trying to kiss and talk to her at the same time. The whistle shrieked again, and the train began to rumble. 

The broke apart and he took a reluctant step back as the scarlet engine lurched. She waved, and, disbelieving, he waved back, breathing heavily, a sappy smile on his face. He felt as though he were in a dream, he still couldn’t quite believe that his mad, insane, intense idea had worked… 

‘Hello, Ted,’ came a low voice. Teddy was suddenly very aware of someone standing behind him. 

He didn’t turn, just tried to keep his face neutral and his voice casual. ‘Hi, Bill.’


End file.
